This technology describes the synthesis and characterization of fluorescent compounds that are substrates for monoamine transporters and can be used for direct imaging of neurotransmission at the synapse level.
Current methods to study neurotransmission allow observation and measurement of post-synaptic activity such as vesicle-membrane fusion but there are no methods for directly observing neurotransmitter release from individual synapses at the pre-synaptic terminal. Monoamine neurotransmitters such as dopamine are particularly difficult to quantify using existing methods due to toxicity, low efficiency, low specificity, and poor spatial resolution.
This technology identifies fluorescent compounds that accumulate in synaptic vesicles, allowing for direct visualization of neurotransmitter transport in individual dopamine terminals. These fluorescent false neurotransmitters, like dopamine, bind to the synaptic vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT2) and other aminergic transporters, resulting in selective accumulation in dopamine terminals. As such, neurotransmitter uptake, redistribution, and release can be observed and measured with high resolution based on changes in fluorescence.
This technology has been validated by imaging VMAT2 activity in neurons in cell culture, primary neuronal cultures, and mouse brain slices.
IR M06-109-a
Licensing Contact: Jerry Kokoskha
